Monthly Archives: August 2020

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Your Approach to Costing Might Be Killing Your Business

This from Plastics Today… Profitability is a delicate balancing act between what it costs to create the product and what the customer is willing to pay. As a plastics processing business owner, you probably have your way of calculating costs. While there is no single, best method, how you choose to implement costing can make or break your bottom line.

Congratulations — your bid won the job! You should be very proud, and maybe even a little worried. On the surface, winning any competitive bid sounds like a boost to your business. But if you’re not adequately covering job-related costs, securing that new business could become a money-losing proposition.

Unfortunately, far too many plastics manufacturing business owners and estimators operate by intuition with no real idea of the best way to account for costs. The good news is there are simple and proven methods that can help quantifiably determine profitability.

Read the story here.

Blog

Smart Training Technology: Real-World Operator Experience for Next Gen Equipment Training

Golden, Colorado is home to the Coors Brewery, Lookout Mountain, wild west museums; and, if Terri Olson has anything to say about it, the region’s most effective heavy equipment operator training. As a civil construction business owner, Olson experienced the challenges of hiring, developing, and maintaining a skilled workforce. Driven to advance training through personalized, customer-oriented, instruction she launched Next Gen Equipment Training in the latter stages of 2019.
The company offers a variety of vehicle training options including – hydraulic excavators, wheel and backhoe loaders, heavy construction dozers, motor graders, and articulated trucks. Although classroom and field instruction are provided, there is growing emphasis on simulation-based training.
Retaining qualified operators is a concern for all construction business owners. The key lies not only in competitive wages; but providing opportunity, solid training, and a clear career path. This holds true for seasoned operators as well as young laborers aspiring to take the controls.
Because equipment operators come with a wide variety of experience, skills, and requirements, training centers must have the flexibility to tailor instruction to the needs of each trainee. Attempting this in a field setting is costly, time-consuming, and often weather dependent. For a growing number of equipment trainers, including Next Gen, virtually replicating this environment is the answer.
Next Gen realized that its success could ultimately come down to the simulator they were about to choose. A system would have to represent a true hands-on field experience, adapt to a wide variety of equipment type, usage, and scenarios; and fulfill the unique requirements of students at all levels. With so much on the line, Next Gen began a thorough research of the market.
Read the case study here.